Stuck Together
by AlyssaGrayy
Summary: Smart, competitive, short-tempered, arrogant. The loathsome prince of Slytherin and Gryffindor's bright princess have more in common than they're willing to admit. No matter how hard Draco and Hermione try to avoid one another, it seems they just keep getting stuck together.
1. Chapter 1: Flying

_Smart, competitive, short-tempered, arrogant. The loathsome prince of Slytherin and Gryffindor's bright princess have more in common than they're willing to admit. No matter how hard Draco and Hermione try to avoid one another, it seems they just keep getting stuck together._

* * *

Hermione crashed into the ground, and heard a snap. At first, the sound made her more uncomfortable than the injury hurt her, but after a moment the pain hit her and she cried out.

Malfoy was out on the field, and saw Granger zipping around on her broom, her hair so wild she looked like a flying cat. He thanked Merlin that he was here to see it, and laughed so hard he nearly doubled over when she crashed into the ground. The snap made him feel sick for a moment though. When Granger cried out in pain, Malfoy glanced around to see who would come to her aid. But they were the only ones around.

Granger was whimpering on the ground, not even yelling for help. Draco couldn't deny her high test scores, but anyone who had ever called her 'bright' clearly had never seen her this helpless and stupid.

Draco shouted for her, "Hey! Hey, anyone around? Someone come get this fucking klutz off the field!"

No one responded, and Malfoy looked from Hermione, to the castle about 200 yards away, and back to Hermione.

"Bloody hell," he grumbled, and stomped over to where the witch's body lay.

Hermione looked up to see Draco Malfoy standing above her with a mocking smirk on his face. She groaned.

"You are so pathetic Granger," he said.

"Fuck off," Hermione snapped.

Malfoy bent down and snaked his arm around Hermione, pulling her up to her feet.

"Let go of me!" Hermione yelled, and Draco complied.

Hermione screamed in pain as her body hit the ground again, and Malfoy was laughing above her.

"I'm the only one around Granger, you're stuck with me unless you want to lay here until Hufflepuff's quidditch practice tomorrow," when Hermione stubbornly stayed silent Draco added, "you'll miss class though."

Hermione glared at him, "fine, fucking help me up then."

"Not a very nice way to talk to someone trying to help you," Draco said smugly. He tried to take a mental picture of how she looked right now, angry and stubborn and helpless. It was bloody perfect.

"Please Malfoy," Hermione said through gritted teeth, "would you help me to the infirmary?"

"Better," Malfoy said, and bent down again to lift her up. He put her arm around his shoulders, and his arm around her waist. Once she was upright, they attempted to take a step. Once Hermione placed her injured foot down, she instantly cried out again and nearly fell over. Draco was tempted to let her go just to see her fall again, but he had other shit to do.

They took five pathetic steps with Hermione attempting to hop on one leg, "fuck, I haven't got all day," Draco said, and then he reached his other arm underneath the witch's knees and lifted her up. She cried out in pain from the movement in her leg.

"Put me down!" she shouted stubbornly, squirming in his arms.

"Shut up," Malfoy replied, not even glancing down at her.

They finally got to the door to the castle. It would have taken them an hour if Draco hadn't picked her up, "open the door," he commanded.

"Absolutely not!"

"Look you think I want to be seen like this? It's fucking disgusting, but you've already wasted enough of my time so get fucking over it," Malfoy growled.

Reluctantly, Hermione opened the castle door, and then put her hand over her face to try and hide as Draco stepped into the corridor. Unfortunately, no one identified Hermione from her face, her wild hair was much more recognizable.

Malfoy scowled at anyone who glanced in their direction, and was purposely careless carrying Hermione.

"Ow!" she cried when her leg hit the doorway to the infirmary.

"Shut it mudblood," Malfoy replied, and dropped her lazily on the first available cot, causing her to yelp in pain again.

Madame Pomfrey rushed over from where she was treating another student who seemed to have taken too many of Fred and George's Skiving Snackbox sweets. Draco began to walk out, but Madame Pomfrey shouted after him, "Wait! I'm busy with another student, but the salve is pretty straightforward. Just heat it up with your wand, hold her leg still, and rub it on the injured area. Make sure to use all of it!"

Malfoy called after Madame Pomfrey in protest, but she was already rushing back to the other student, who was breaking out in boils.

Hermione and Draco locked eyes uncomfortably for a long moment.

"Fuck me," Draco grumbled, and picked up the salve. He took out his wand, and aimed a heating spell at the bottle, then he glanced down at Hermione's leg.

"Do you expect me to rip through your tights or something Granger?" he scowled.

Blushing, Hermione pulled down her stockings from underneath her skirt as Malfoy averted his gaze. She got them down to her knee, but when she tried to bend further pain shot up her leg and she gasped. Draco looked down at her disdainfully, and then pulled her stockings and her sock on her right leg down to her ankle. Hermione propped herself up on her elbows and watched uncomfortably as he poured some of the goopy blue salve onto his hands, and then rubbed it onto her leg

"Ow!" she screamed angrily, jerking back.

"Oh suck it up," Malfoy said, "and next time don't be so bloody clumsy. What the hell were you doing out there anyway?"

Hermione inhaled sharply when Malfoy touched the salve to her leg again, but kept still as he rubbed it in, "studying, obviously."

"Studying what? How hard the ground is?"

Hermione huffed, "studying flying you half-wit."

Draco smiled, and roughly spread more salve on the witch's leg, but this time it felt cool, and calming. The pain receded and Hermione let out a relieved, sigh, "oh? The brightest which of our age can't even fucking fly? You're an embarrassment."

"Fuck off," Hermione snapped.

"Gladly," Draco said and he rubbed the last of the salve into her calf. He turned around sharply, and left the infirmary.

Draco stalked angrily through the halls, his fists clenched. _Fucking mudblood_ he murmured to himself. He should be happy, any day when Granger was in pain was a good one, but instead he had an annoying thought that wouldn't leave his head. Malfoy walked even faster, taking corners sharply and roughly pushing past anyone who got in his way. He finally made it to his room, and before he could stop himself he punched the brick wall. He looked at his bloody knuckles, but even the pain wasn't enough to distract him.

He just couldn't get the sound of Granger's satisfied, breathy moan she had made when the salve began to work out of his ears.

He couldn't get the feeling of her bare leg off of his hands.

Even when he closed his eyes, he could still see her blushing face as she curled into his chest to try and hide while he carried her.


	2. Chapter 2: Lab Partners

_I tried to write Snape's lines with his weird voice, not sure it worked._

* * *

" _Mr_. Malfoy, since it seems you and Mr. Zabini cannot _focus_ , please pair up with Miss Grangerrr," Snape ordered.

"What? Gross, no," Draco protested.

"That was nottt a request."

Malfoy scowled, and reluctantly picked up his books, and moved to the seat beside Hermione. Neville in turn moved to sit next to Blaise, looking like he'd rather eat a whole box of burt's every flavored bean.

Hermione raised her hand.

"Yesss Miss Granger?"

"Excuse me Professor, but I don't see why I should be punished just because Malfoy was breaking the rules."

"Because you annoyyy me" Snape drawled. Hermione gasped, offended, and Malfoy chuckled.

Hermione took out her notes, though of course she had all the information memorized.

"Alright," Hermione started, "first we add a pinch of Phoenix dust, and then a sprig of lavender."

"Yeah, whatever," Malfoy said, leaning back in his chair.

"Are you really just going to sit and do nothing?"

"Please, we both know how to make a fucking Dreamless Sleep potion, this is just a waste of time."

Hermione huffed, "the _purpose_ is for practice, so that we don't simply forget in a few months. And I refuse to let you get credit for doing nothing."

"Fucking fine," Malfoy said, and he threw the Phoenix dust and the lavender carelessly into the cauldron.

"You have to add them in order! And the lavender is meant to be _placed_ in, not thrown!"

"The fuck does it matter?" Draco grumbled, "they all end up in there together anyway."

"Do you pay any attention in class? How you became prefect is beyond me. I'll bet you don't even know how to cook either," Hermione said condescendingly.

"Bloody right I don't. Do I look like a house elf? And the fuck does that have to do with anything?"

Hermione sighed like like it was obvious "In cooking, just like for potions, the details are crucial. If you add chicken and peppers to the pan at the same time, the peppers will be burnt by the time the chicken is ready. If you add the ingredients in the wrong order, your sleep will be dreamless but you won't wake up feeling rested," Hermione explained matter-of-factly, starting over and adding in ingredients as she spoke, "now, stir the potion precisely three times clockwise, and ten times counterclockwise."

"Don't order me around Granger, I'm warning you," Draco hissed, but complied. Hermione rolled her eyes. When Malfoy leaned over to mix the potion, Hermione was surprised to find that she recognized his scent from the other day. He smelled like old books, Hermione's favorite smell. Also a little minty. She hadn't realized, but apparently she had assumed he would smell like hair gel and bad cologne. When she looked closer, she noticed that his books weren't actually textbooks for class, they were books like _A Guide to Silencing Spells_ and _The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime._

When they had finished, Snape came around to inspect it, and begrudgingly nodded his approval. Before class ended, Hermione snuck her copy of _It Takes a Bit of Magic_ into Draco's bag. It was a history of the ways muggles and wizards have worked together to bring about change and influence nations. Malfoy snuck some of the Dreamless Sleep potion into a bottle and slipped it into his pocket. He was sick of seeing Granger in his dreams.

Draco didn't think twice about the book when he picked it up, but after the first chapter he realized he never would have picked it out for himself. He hadn't known that Henry V was a mudblood though, so he kept reading. Everyone knew that Cleopatra was a witch, but Malfoy was surprised to read that she convinced Mark Antony's governor Lucius Saxa (an ancestor of the Malfoys', and also a wizard of course) to free all of his house elves.

Malfoy had a theory about where this book came from. _That sneaky little mudblood,_ Draco thought, but the word applied to Granger suddenly made him feel uncomfortable. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, she was definitely superior to most of the purebloods he knew.


	3. Chapter 3: Yule Ball

"Support the real champion of Hogwarts!" Malfoy called, handing out 'Potter Sucks' buttons. He'd never really liked Cedric, but anyone was better than Potter. Honestly, those two losers were going to embarrass the whole school. He was surprised Diggory didn't turn and run from the dragon, Hufflepuffs weren't really known for being tough.

"Care for a button?" Malfoy asked with a smirk, stepping into Granger's path and holding out a button. She glanced down at it curiously, and when it changed from Cedric's face to 'Potter Sucks' she snatched the pin out of Draco's hand and threw it out the open window. Draco couldn't help but smile as she stormed off.

* * *

"I could tell you stories about your father that would curl even your greasy hair boy! It doesn't end here!" Mad-eye screamed after Draco as he ran.

Draco cursed, _how dare he?_ A fucking professor, using transfiguration on a student! And who was he to tell Draco about his own father? He didn't have a clue. Not a fucking clue! As if Draco didn't know the shit Lucius has done, half of it to his own son! Lucius Malfoy would have set Potter on fire, Draco was only going to throw him in the air with an Alarte Ascendare.

Draco tried to remember if Granger was in the crowd that watched him get turned into a ferret and jerked around. She always acted so poised and perfect, he hated looking stupid in front of her. He replayed her falling off her broom in his head again, and it made him feel a little better.

Draco picked up a newspaper, and saw Rita Skeeter's newest bullshit. "Miss Granger a plain but ambitious girl seems to be developing a taste for famous wizards. Her latest prey sources report is none other than the Bulgarian bon-bon Viktor Krum. No word yet on how Harry Potter's taking this latest emotional blow."

Please, Granger and Krum? About as likely as her and Potter. She may be dumb enough to be friends with the idiot, but Malfoy was sure she'd never date Potter. He was far too stupid. She needed someone who could challenge her.

And Krum could go out with any girl in the three schools, a bitchy bookworm with bad hair? Not bloody likely.

* * *

"Viktor's gone to get drinks. Care to join us?" Hermione asked Ron and Padma.

"No, we'd _not_ care to join you and Viktor," Ron huffed.

"What's got your wand in a knot?"

"You're fraternising with the enemy."

"The enemy? Who was it wanting his autograph?" Hermione retorted. Ron shifted uncomfortably, "Besides, the whole point of the tournament is international magical cooperation."

"He's obviously just using you," Ron grumbled.

"That's what you think?" Hermione asked angrily, cursing herself silently when her voice broke.

"Yeah that is what I think."

"Because there's no way he could genuinely like me, right? Right Ron? Why would anyone ever like the obnoxious, crazy, prudish know-it-all?" Hermione yelled, using only _some_ of the awful things Ron had said to her in the past. She never stood up for herself, because she wanted so badly to have friends, but if this was how friendship felt she wanted no part in it. She turned her back on Ron, and ran out of the ballroom.

Malfoy clenched his fists and glared at the red-headed half-wit, and turned back to Pansy. She was babbling on about Lavender Brown's scowl deepened, and despite himself, he glanced at the door Granger had run out of. He looked back at Pansy, and decided he'd rather hang out with a fucking muggleborn than with her.

He found Hermione sitting on a bench by a window, her knees tucked up to her chest and her face buried in her hands. Quiet sobs shook her body. Draco immediately regretted his decision, and was about to turn around and get away from this pathetic scene, but Hermione must have heard him, and she looked up.

"Leave me alone Malfoy," she sobbed.

Draco didn't move. He bit his lip, his brain warring with itself about how to respond. In the end, instead of telling her how pathetic she looked, he said, "Ron Weasley is a fucking twat."

"Leave me _alone_ Malfoy!" Hermione yelled again, burying her face back in her hands.

Draco just got angrier, "Merlin, I thought you were meant to be smart! Why do you let that weasel affect you like this? He is the dumbest fucking tosser to ever walk these halls, nothing he says fucking matters! Pull yourself together and go fucking dance."

"I'll just look like a fool," Hermione cried into her hands, "the loser who actually thought someone like Viktor Krum would want to go out with me."

"Are you bloody kidding me?" Draco asked. He looked around to make sure they were alone, and silently cursed himself for what he was about to say, "the moment you walked into the hall, every eye was on you. Not because you looked like a fool, because you looked…" Hermione looked up hesitantly. Draco noticed the way the tears made her puffy brown eyes glisten, and the soft trails they left on her dark skin. "Agh! Fuck Granger, you're clever and brave and when you finally pulled that bush you call hair back so that people could see your face they realized you're pretty too. So go back to the fucking dance and show Weasley how bloody wrong he was."

Malfoy turned and stormed away. He didn't want to look at Granger's face another second. The way her eyes widened when he was speaking, the way her big, soft lips parted slightly in surprise, it was too much. She made him so bloody angry. How could such a clever girl be so stupid? And why did she hang out with such idiots? She may be a fucking muggle-born, but she was still better than Potter and the weasel. She made his blood fucking boil.

Still better than dancing with Pansy though.


	4. Chapter 4: Treasure

Everyone is watching the lake. Rather a boring competition, really.

Dumbledore's voice boomed over the loudspeaker, "The Beauxbatons champion Miss Delacour has unfortunately been forced to retire. She will take no further part in this task."

Draco preferred Lee Jordan's narration. Much more colorful.

"Harry Potter is attempting to rescue both Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The mermaids are attacking him, and Krum has arrived to rescue Granger."

Potter surfaced, and the weasel woke up gasping and sputtering, looking like a fool. Malfoy was hoping the both of them would drown.

Diggory and Cho Chang surface next, and Draco cheers half-heartedly. He really only showed up in the hopes that Potter would fail. He considered leaving then, but Krum hadn't come up yet…

"Viktor Krum has suffered a harsh injury. Let's hope he can recover," Dumbledore announced. Draco felt a bit nervous. Potter dove back into the water.

The crowd sat there for a while, and nothing much happened. From Dumbledore's announcing, it seemed Krum had pissed off the mermaids somehow. The water looked a bit bloody. Draco chewed on his lip.

"Maybe the mudblood will die down there," Crabb laughed, jabbing Draco in the ribs. Draco scowled at him. He really needed smarter friends.

Time ticked on.

Potter broke the surface, gasping for air. Granger wasn't with him. Apparently, his gillyweed had worn off.

"Krum can't get Hermione free! The mermaids are attacking her!" Harry cried, "Dumbledore, you must let her up!"

"That's not how it works Harry, the task goes on unless he forfeits," Dumbledore explained.

"But he's barely conscious!" Harry protested, "she didn't sign up for this! Please!"

Before Draco could question himself, he was diving into the lake.

He cast a bubble-head charm, apparently a spell Potter had forgotten about. He saw Hermione's broken chain, but the mermaids were holding her underwater. Their sharp nails and fins had cut her all over, and torn her clothes.

Krum was fighting weakly, and the mermaids were laughing at him. Draco wordlessly cast a wordless confundo, causing Krum's eyes to widen in shock. Not many wizards their age could do wordless spells, and honestly Draco had only mastered a few. Krum took the opportunity to grab Hermione, and begin swimming upwards. The mermaids recovered, and raced after them, but Malfoy grabbed onto Krum and Granger and cast a spell to propel them upwards.

The moment they broke the surface, Granger regained consciousness, gasping and shaking. Draco didn't pause to see if she was okay, he quickly got out of the lake and made his way back to the castle without looking back.

Hermione looked to Krum in confusion, and he merely shrugged. The dirty lake water was stinging her cuts, and she supposed she would have to wait to get an explanation later. For now, she just allowed Krum to swim her back towards land. She felt warmer as his arms morphed from rubbery shark arms back into strong, comforting ones.

Hermione remembered just before she took the drug that would keep her unconscious but alive underwater, how Dumbledore had told her she was Viktor's 'treasure'. She had been briefly distracted from ranting about the barbaric nature of this stupid dangerous competition.

He had saved her, and though she made sure to tell him afterwards that she was not the sort of girl that needed saving, it still made her feel like the sort of girl a boy might want to dance with. She kissed Viktor that night when he walked her back to her room, but as she was falling asleep she found herself unable to focus on thoughts about Viktor. Instead, she wondered about why Malfoy had jumped into the lake to help Krum, and the way his hair looked in his face when it was wet, instead of slicked back.


	5. Chapter 5: Rounds

_I actually did a bit of research on the history of witchcraft for this chapter. There's actually quite a few countries who are still very opposed to witchcraft and have laws outlawing it, but this is fiction and I tried to focus only on the wizarding world, so I didn't list them all. Also Rowling's explanation- or lack thereof- for the anti-muggle bias always seemed a little underdeveloped and flimsy to me, so I tried to build on it here._

The prefects of all four houses who were on duty were called for a meeting, in the middle of their rounds. Since they all took turns within the houses, the prefects on duty that night were Hermione, Padma Patil, Ernest Macmillan, and of course, Draco. Apparently a few of the professors- mainly Snape- had noticed some things missing from their offices, perhaps stolen. The prefects were to pair up and patrol the halls around the classrooms tonight, rather than the common areas.

Hermione started to move towards Ernest, intending to pair up with him, but Padma grabbed his arm and sneered at Hermione. Apparently the witch blamed Hermione for her less than romantic date with Ron. Fantastic.

Hermione stomped off in the opposite direction of Padma and Ernest. She had actually forgotten about Draco until he ran to catch up to her, muttering curses.

"Pretty fucking presumptuous of you Granger, assuming I'd pair up with you. You don't think just because of the triwizard task that i care about you or something? I just didn't want Cedric to lose. No one seems to notice that Slytherins are the only ones who keep Hogwarts from looking like a school full of losers to the rest of the wizarding world"

Hermione sighed, "Malfoy, i obviously didn't want to pair up with you, Padma's just a spiteful, ill-informed, spoiled little witch," Hermione took a shaky breath, and tried to calm herself, "and the only thing you Slytherin's do for our reputation is sully it," she added.

Draco stepped in front of Granger, stopping her in her tracks in the empty corridor, "and what do you think you muggle-borns do? You're an embarrassment," he spat.

"Ha! If you're going to be prejudiced, at least be educated. You know anti-muggle bias pretty much only exists in Britain, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, and the States right? You and your barbaric views are the embarrassment," Hermione lectured.

"Are you forgetting all the thousands of witches and wizards who have been murdered by muggles? What about the laws against witchcraft that still exist today in Saudi Arabia and Tanzania? You fucking muggle-borns like to forget the history of hangings, drownings, and torture, but my ancestors were burned at the stake!"

"Are you forgetting that more than half the so-called 'witches' burned weren't even really witches? Just muggle women who spoke out of turn, or happened to own a cat! You can't possibly defend yourself Malfoy, not when even now your family owns house elves! You're disgusting."

"You think you're so damn perfect don't you! The fucking martyr Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of her age, Gryffindor's bloody princess," Draco went on sarcastically, "it's all an act. You'd say whatever it took to get people to like you, but you still can't manage it! You're intolerable! Merlin, no wonder poor Krum tried to leave you at the bottom of a lake just to avoid hearing you ramble on for another moment!"

"You know Malfoy, I think I'd rather not hear you ramble on for another moment."

Hermione cast a silencing charm around herself, and the world around her- particularly Malfoy- went silent. Malfoy went on talking, growing more and more frustrated as he did. He heard her cast the charm, he must know it was pointless to try and talk to her, and yet she watched with a small, amused smile as he shouted at her. He began motioning wildly with his hands, mostly giving her the finger. If he knew actual sign language, like she did, he might actually have a chance of communicating with her. But of course he didn't. Hermione chuckled, which made him angrier.

Malfoy took a step towards Hermione, and she took a step back. More silent screaming. Another step forward, another step back, but Hermione's back hit the wall. She crossed her arms, to show that she was unbothered, but also because if she bent down to get her wand out of her knee-high sock, her face would end up right by his… Besides, it was quite amusing to watch Malfoy so powerless, so Hermione didn't move away. If she had, maybe Malfoy wouldn't have grabbed her upper arm in a desperate attempt to get a reaction out of her. And maybe it wouldn't have surprised both of them to the point where Draco stopped shouting for a moment. And maybe Hermione wouldn't have noticed his lips form the word mudblood, just before they smashed into her own lips.

But she didn't move away, and he did.


	6. Chapter 6: Vexing

Hermione tried to jerk back, hitting her head against the wall. It was effective enough, and Malfoy pulled away. There expressions mirrored one another, a mix of surprise and horror. After an instant, they both changed to looks of disgust and anger. Hermione turned away, and continued walking down the hall. Truly, she just wanted a moment when he could not see her face so that she could process what had just happened. The total silence was freaking her out, so she undid her silencing charm.

Draco was left standing there, wiping her off of his mouth. He had no idea what had just happened, he had just gotten so angry, he wasn't even thinking. It must have been a hex of some sort, or a ghost playing a prank.

He ran up to Granger, grabbed the back of her robes, and yanked her back, intending to tell her just that. But then, of course, he remembered that she had cast a silencing charm. He tried to do his best to communicate nonverbally, because he simply couldn't have her thinking that he would _willing_ touch her.

Slowly, moving his lips very carefully, and hoping she would be able to tell what he was saying, Draco said, "that did not happen. It was a hex, or a ghost, or something. You disgust me. I hate you Granger. You're a stupid, ugly, pathetic mudblood bitch."

It seemed Granger got the message, because she glared at him, shoved past him, and continued on down the hallway.

He was getting real fucking tired of following after her.

Instead, he leaned against the wall and stayed there, glaring at nothing and plotting ways to make Granger's life hell. After a while, Hermione had walked to the end of the hall, turned and gone down another hall, and checked every room on the way. She reluctantly turned back, but she made sure to wipe away her tears before she turned the corner into Malfoy's line of sight.

"I suppose you're still ignoring me?" Draco asked, and Hermione was careful not to give any indication that she had undone her silencing charm, "fucking childish," Malfoy said, standing upright. He began walking the other way down the corridor, making sure it was _her_ who was following _him_ this time.

"Honestly, I'm beginning to think Zabini is playing a very elaborate prank on me," Draco carried on, talking to himself. He knew she couldn't hear him, but he was still angry and he didn't give a shit, "it'd be just like him to plant dreams of you in my head," Hermione's eyes widened at this, but Malfoy couldn't see her, "probably saw me carry you to the infirmary and thought it'd be funny to mess with my head. Not sure how he made me jump into that lake though," Draco had started rambling now. He'd had no one to talk to about the weird shit that had been going on in his head lately, and even though she couldn't hear him- _only_ because she couldn't hear him- it felt nice to finally talk to someone.

"It's clearly not a love potion," Draco continued, grimacing at the word, "I still find you fucking revolting. Hm, that's not the right word. I find Weasley revolting. You're… vile? Repulsive? Nauseating?"

Hermione was about ready to Stupify him.

"Vexing. You're vexing," Draco finally said, decisively, "you give me a fucking headache. Even when you're not around! What the hell is that?" Draco was getting frustrated, but it felt strangely good, to get it all off his chest, "and that book you slipped me? Clever, I'll give you that, but it's not as if it's going to change my mind about anything. So a couple of muggles did something worthwhile, who cares? So you're smarter than half the fucking purebloods I know, so what? You're still weak. That book proves it. You can't stand that people hate you! That they hate people like you, like your parents too. You think you can fucking change me with some stupid little book? With a couple of sweet looks and those big brown eyes of yours? Good fucking luck. I'll always hate y-"

Draco stopped in his tracks. He saw Hermione's face reflected in a window. Her expression was a mix of too many emotions for him to decipher, but one thing was clear enough- she had heard him.

Merlin, what was going on with him? He was doing so many things lately that contradicted everything he thought he was. He was meant to be clever! He was meant to be in control, to try and keep his cards close to his chest and not let emotions influence his actions. And what fucking emotion had driven him to- to… He couldn't even think it, it was too revolting. Was it admiration? It had become a waste of time and effort to deny that he admired her intelligence, and her ferocity. Perhaps it was built up sexual frustration? Pansy and his exploits hardly ever managed to get him there, but even so how had he gotten so desperate that he'd kiss a Gryffindor?

Regardless of the cause (a hex? A forgotten brain injury?), Malfoy found himself exposed and vulnerable in front of Granger. It was his nightmare. He watched the witch in the window, as she looked at him in confusion, trying to figure out why he had stopped so suddenly. Eventually, she noticed the window, and their eyes met in its reflective face.


	7. Chapter 7: Forgetting

"Obliviate."

Malfoy acted numbly. He had no choice. The risks didn't matter.

Hermione's eyes widened, and he could see fear in her eyes just before the spell hit. Then, fear was replaced with confusion. Draco drew in a sharp breath as he realized what he had done. He was an excellent wizard, yes, but it wasn't exactly like he had practiced the mind erasing spell much. They had only ever used it on rats in class, and with that it was impossible to tell how much damage they caused. Malfoy had cast the spell with the intention of only erasing the last few minutes of him rambling, he hadn't even thought to erase the minutes before that- the kiss. But there was really no telling how much of Granger's memory he had affected, and he suddenly found himself shaking from fear. What had he done?

He took a cautious step towards the witch, her confused expression scaring him more and more by the second, "Granger?"

"What?" The witch responded, an irritated edge replacing her confused expression.

Draco paused, his worried eyes searching her face for a clue about what she was thinking, what she remembered, "are you… ready to go back and meet up with Padma and Ernest?"

"I doubt they're done yet, but a girl can hope," Hermione sighed, and began walking back towards the main hall where they had started the night, "I can't wait to get the hell away from you."

 _Well that told me bloody nothing_ , Draco thought bitterly, though it wasn't entirely true. He knew she remembered they were on prefect rounds, and he knew she had forgotten his stupid babbling. Though he couldn't be certain, it seemed his spell had worked as he intended.

Malfoy let out a relieved sigh. He knew he should probe further, to be sure, but honestly he was just so glad to feel in control again that it was hard to care. Maybe Granger forgot a lesson or two, or some nonsense Weasel had bored her with the other day, who cared? The thought of Granger not remembering the answer in class brought a smile to Draco's lips, and he contentedly followed her down the hall to meet up with the other prefects.

Hermione was surprised to see Padma and Ernest waiting for them. She checked the clock and found it was already 3 in the morning. They had been patrolling for four hours. It had felt like hardly one.

Hermione didn't dwell on it, she was tired and frustrated. She eagerly left Malfoy behind and made her way back to her room in the Gryffindor tower. Hermione felt a pang of hurt, and when she reached up she found the back of her head tender to the touch. Strange, she hadn't remembered hitting her head on anything. Perhaps it was just a particularly bad headache resulting from Malfoy's bullshit. Honestly, sometimes she wondered if he was even sane. One moment they were arguing and he was saying Krum _wanted_ her to drown, and the next he was staring at her looking... worried? What was that? It certainly wasn't the worst thing he had ever said to her, Hermione doubted he regretted it. No, she must have misinterpreted his expression. Nothing about the night seemed to make any sense to her, and Hermione's head was spinning so badly she decided not to devote any more care to the matter, and instead fell asleep to strange dreams. They felt so real, but even unconscious Hermione knew that the visions were false. She saw a conversation with Luna, where Luna babbled nonsense words and Hermione nodded politely. She saw a dance at the Yule ball with Krum, though Hermione knew she had left the dance to go cry in the hallway. Draco had told her she was pathetic for it, but she hadn't gone back. In her dreams, Hermione even saw Malfoy grab her and kiss her. She woke up disgusted, but not for the reasons she should have been. No, she woke up disgusted because in the irrational world of dreams where she had no control and couldn't think straight, she had kissed him back.


	8. Chapter 8: Detention

Snape insisted on Hermione and Malfoy continuing as lab partners in potions class. As they worked- well, as Hermione worked- Hermione felt his eyes studying her. She was growing more and more agitated by the moment. Finally, she hissed, "stop it."

"Stop what?" Malfoy glowered, tired of her badgering and constant nagging to help with the potion-making.

"Staring, it's creepy."

"I am _not_ staring," Malfoy protested.

"You are too, you have been all class and I don't care for it

"Why would _I_ want to stare at _you?_ Merlin, it looks like you haven't brushed your hair since the damn Yule ball!"

"I don't care why Malfoy, just stop.

"I AM NOT-"

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger, I hope you have a good reason for disturbing my class," Snape interrupted, coming up from behind Malfoy, causing the wizard to nearly jump out of his skin.

"Professor," Hermione spoke, "I've simply been trying to do the assignment and Malfoy's been mucking around!"

Snape sighed, "Miss Granger do you ever take responsibility for anything?"

"I tried-" Hermione tried to protest, but Snape cut her off.

"Detention, for the both of you, maybe you can get your bickering out then and we can actually have some peace in the next class."

"But Professor!" Hermione gasped, but Snape had already turned and walked away to yell at another student.

Hermione showed up early to Filch's office for detention, and Malfoy showed up late. Filch had shoved cleaning supplies at the pair with a grumble, "spotless by the time I come back. And no talking! I won't have you enjoying yourselves on my time." Draco rolled his eyes, spending time with Granger could hardly be described as fun. "Disgusting children," Filch grumbled, "too energetic. Only thing you lot are good for is manual labor," then Filch left and locked them in his office.

Hermione took a broom and began sweeping, but Malfoy only laughed derisively and cast a simple 'scourgify'. The floor and furniture glistened, but the papers on Filch's desk became damp and the ink ran down the pages.

Hermione's jaw clenched in irritation, and she merely turned to look at Draco with unsurprised disappointment.

"Oh don't act so superior, cleaning this dump would take hours by hand. We're wizards, not house elves," Draco said defensively.

"Hush! We're meant to be quiet," Hermione snapped, casting a hot air charm on the papers which solved the wetness problem but not the ruined ink.

"Oh come on, there's no one here," Draco said, as if he were explaining to a child.

"That's not the point. It's detention. When will you learn that your actions have consequences? Can you even manage to be quiet for a few minutes?"

"I'm sure I could, but why would I want to?" Malfoy said, pride and amusement in his voice.

"You just love the sound of your own voice don't you?"

"Well it is a rather charming sound I admit," Malfoy said with a smirk, "but it's really more for your benefit than my own."

"How could it possibly be to my benefit?" Hermione asked, her lip curling with disgust but her face flushing at the unwelcome memory of her dream.

"I imagine your life is rather dull, always following the rules and doing whatever Potter orders you to," Draco spat, "I'm at least entertaining, unlike those two dimwits you hang round who couldn't hope to intellectually challenge a toddler."

"You confuse irritating with entertaining Malfoy," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"If I annoy you so much, why don't you just cast a silencing charm," Draco grumbled.

"What?" Hermione asked sharply.

"Nothing, nevermind it."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. She wasn't sure why, but Malfoy's comment unnerved her. She felt a tingle of a memory in the back of her mind, but as hard as she tried she couldn't grasp it. Perhaps it was some half-forgotten dream. Still, it bothered her.

"Entertain me then Malfoy, do some actual work for once in your life," Hermione said, motioning to the cleaning supplies, "I thought Slytherins were supposed to be determined, driven. I've never seen you work hard for anything other than being an absolute twat."

Draco's eyebrows rose, "Such language!" he grinned, "naughty little witch, maybe you belong in detention."

Hermione's face flushed with rage, "don't call me that! And I do _not_ belong here, this is all _your_ fault because you can't manage to go one minute without mucking up my life!"

"Oh please, as if I care one bit about your life. You're the one who keeps getting in my way."

"Me?" Hermione shouted, "you're the one who jumped into the lake after me! You're the one who wouldn't stop bothering me at the Yule ball when all I wanted was to be alone!"

"You should be thanking me for that!" Malfoy yelled, "I gave you the push you needed to get off your sorry arse and go back."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "You did no such thing," she said haughtily.

"Of course I did, don't you remem-" Draco stopped suddenly, realizing what had happened. She had forgotten going back to the dance. She had forgotten walking back in with confidence. She had forgotten dancing with Vicktor. She had forgotten the way everyone watched them with envy, not envious of her, but envious of Vicktor for being the one to get to be with her. She had forgotten whatever the two had done after they left the ball. The last thought made Draco feel a sort of sick joy, but it was nothing compared to the guilt he felt about the rest of her memories. Though most would not believe it and he denied it even to himself, Draco was familiar with the feeling of guilt. Fortunately, he was also familiar with pushing those feelings away.

"Oh right," Draco laughed, "you didn't go back, just accepted defeat like a sweet little Hufflepuff. No, you're right, you're not a naughty little witch. You're just a pathetic bitch."

Hermione leaped across the room, pushing Draco down and landing on top of him. She crushed his wrist underneath her knee, causing him to drop his wand. Her own wand sat forgotten in her robe pocket. Hermione drew back a fist, and swung. He scrunched his eyes closed and drew in a sharp breath. She stopped just in front of Draco's nose. She remembered the last time she had punched Malfoy, and all the good that had done. Draco opened his eyes, confused when he didn't feel Hermione's fist hit his face.

Hermione sighed, lowering her fist. Draco felt her knee digging into his wrist, and her weight on his stomach, but dared not say anything and simply stared up at her conflicted face, waiting.

Finally, Hermione lifted her brown eyes to meet Draco's piercing blue ones. His widened as he saw sadness and defeat in hers. Hermione rolled off of him gently. She sat on the floor beside him. Draco sat up, and rubbed his tender wrist. They sat side by side, avoiding looking at each other, until Filch returned and began yelling at them about the ruined papers.


	9. Chapter 9: Cedric

It was time for the final task of the triwizard tournament. Krum beckoned Hermione over to him, and she stepped out from the crowd blushing, aware of all eyes on her. Vicktor's smiled widely at her.

"My good luck charm!" he greeted her, and pulled her into a hug. It was a bit too tight, and when Hermione pulled back she noticed fear behind his eyes, "I hope I'm not overstepping in requesting a kiss for luck?" Vicktor asked. Hermione flushed deeper, and tried not to think of all the Durmstrang girls that were watching and no doubt glaring. She reached on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, but Vicktor still looked happy, and miraculously the fear had faded a bit. Hermione excused herself, and made her way over to Harry, stopping to wish Cedric luck along the way. Cedric hardly noticed he was so enraptured by Cho.

"Be careful," Hermione pressed Harry, though she knew she was wasting her breath. Harry nodded, but it was an empty gesture. Hermione clenched her fists angrily, but said nothing. It wouldn't help any to yell at him now. Ron gave Harry a nod and a grunt, and Hermione rolled her eyes. It was hard to stay mad at him when their best friend was about to enter a death maze.

Hermione sat back in the stands, near the front. It wasn't hard to get a seat close to the maze because there wasn't exactly much to see. Some students on the top benches claimed they could see the lights from spells shoot up above the hedges occasionally.

A low voice came from just behind Hermione's left ear, "ten galleons says Krum takes himself out before any of his competitors can."

Hermione didn't have to turn around to recognize the voice, "that's an awful thing to say Malfoy, you don't have to wish ill on him in order to support Hogwarts."

"Ha! I'd be on the edge of my seat to see that big dumb oaf fail even if he were a Slytherin."

"What do you have against Vicktor?" Hermione asked in spite of herself.

"He's almost as dumb as the Weasel!"

"You've never even spoken to him. He's actually very bright," Hermione said matter-of-factly, and then added, "and so is Ron," but this part sounded less convincing.

Draco scoffed, "I'm sure."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue further, but stopped herself. Draco waited for her retort, and when it didn't come he nudged her, "what, no smart remarks? Lost your edge have you?" he prompted. Hermione stayed silent. Draco dropped down into the bench beside her, and leaned front of Hermione, so she had to turn her head away to avoid his gaze. "The silent treatment? What are we, five?"

Hermione pushed Draco's face away, but he took her hand and moved it aside. Malfoy moved in front of her face again, and Hermione sighed, "I'm done arguing with you Malfoy, it does no use. You're a lost cause."

Draco's face darkened, and he released Hermione's hand. His shadow disappeared from her peripheral vision.

Harry emerged from the maze, and before Hermione had the chance to be relieved, she saw Cedric's limp body. Cedric had been so animated, so lively, that the expression he wore now couldn't possibly be one he could make had his soul still been inside of him. The rest of the crowd didn't see what she saw, and they cheered and rushed at Harry to congratulate him. Hermione sat still in the stands. Ron tried to pull her with him, but gave up when she resisted, stiffly.

Amos, Cedric's father, weeped over his son's body. Cho sat alone in the stands, the only Hogwarts student who remained there, other than Hermione. Cho sobbed quietly, and slipped away unnoticed. Hermione felt a few tears trail down her face. She sniffed, wiped them away, and followed Cho out.

She found Cho crying in the grass in a secluded area outside the castle wall. Hermione held the girl as she cried, and remained stone-faced and stiff, but she willed her arms to be comforting and soft.

Draco stood up to try and get a closer look at Potter and Diggory. Who had the cup? Who had won?

Amos' wails filled the air, answering Draco's silent question.

He searched the crowd, curious as to how Cho would react. Mourners tended to be unpredictable, and he was morbidly curious. He watched the girl slip away, and Granger follow her. After a moment, he got up and went after the witches.

Draco saw Hermione hold Cho in her arms in the most uncomfortable embrace he had ever seen. Still, Granger was the only one around who even tried to comfort the girl. Malfoy was well aware that quiet mourners hardly got the help they needed, even if they were the ones who needed it most. Draco turned, and made his way back to the maze. The students were being ushered out, and all who was left were Amos clutching his son's body, Dumbledore standing beside him, and McGonagall casting a spell to get rid of the hedge maze. Fleur and Vicktor were left looking around them in bewilderment as the vicious plants evaporated before them and they found themselves in an empty field. Malfoy might have laughed at the absurdity, under different circumstances. Instead, he returned to the Slytherin common room, and tried to tune out his classmates gossiping.


	10. Chapter 10: A Moment of Peace

Viktor and Hermione's goodbye was bittersweet. She promised to write him, and he kissed her cheek. The sensation lingered all day, and she almost felt okay for a bit.

All of Hermione's time was split up between Harry and Cho. Cho still didn't really want to talk, but she followed Hermione around as much as she was able. Most people didn't really know how to talk to Cho anymore, and everyone sort of thought Harry had gone crazy in the maze. If Hermione was being completely honest, she wasn't sure he hadn't. Of course she believed him about You-Know-Who, but Harry had been acting distant and moody all year and now… well now Harry was redefining 'reckless'. He was picking fights with anyone who was willing, and a lot of people were willing. Since Ron wasn't particularly good at helping to avoid fights, Hermione was exhausting herself trying to control the both of them. And her own temper wasn't historically mild.

Right now actually, she was...not doing great at keeping herself in check.

"You are an absolute moron!"

"Am not!"

"You once put a pumpernik parsnip in a speed of dragon potion instead of pickled pine nuts!" Hermione yelled, "the whole classroom smelled like rotting parsnips for a week, and the vines broke through the wall!"

"At least I'm not a fucking know-it-all!" Pansy shouted, then turned back to Harry, "or a pitiful orphan lying to get attention."

"No, you just get your attention by being the Slytherin house community broomstick- everyone gets a ride."

"Ron!" Hermione chastised. She may hate the slag, but she would not stand for slut-shaming.

Pansy turned red, "you dirty blood traitor!" she screamed, "you're a disgrace! Your whole family is! A bunch of mudblood-loving weasels!"

Cho gasped from beside Hermione. "Don't you dare use that word!" Harry shouted at the same time Ron rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, weasel, gosh I've never heard that one before."

"Is there a problem here," McGonagall asked, entering the classroom.

"Of course not Professor," Pansy said sweetly. McGonagall looked doubtful, but began her lecture anyway.

Hermione was so mad she could hardly see her notes. Pansy usually didn't get under her skin, but she had been so on edge lately. She glared at the witches back in the chair in front of Hermione. Hermione nearly allowed Ron to pull out his wand and aim it at Pansy, but she stopped him before he could.

Hermione was still fuming when class let out, she needed a moment alone. She loved Cho, and was glad to be of some help, but honestly Hermione wasn't the most comforting person. She had no idea why Cho had latched on to her, other than that Hermione still treated her the same as she had before- not talking to her much but also not looking at her with pity in her eyes. Still, Hermione was an introvert, she did best when she was alone with a book, and she hadn't been really alone for days.

"I'm going to the Gryffindor common room," she told Cho, and headed off that direction, but when the stairwell going up to the tower decided to plunge down into the dungeons Hermione took it anyway.

She hadn't spent much time in the dungeons of Hogwarts, mostly because the hallways were swarming with Slytherins and occasionally Snape, but Hermione was so angry she almost wished someone would try and mess with her. She kept moving past the Potions classroom and past entrance to the Slytherin common room. She turned a corner into an empty hallway and began trying doors. She was so desperate for a moment alone she didn't even notice she was being followed. The first led to Professor Snape's office, the next to a creepy dank stairwell down further underneath Hogwarts. Finally she found a semi-spacious supply closet, and shut herself inside.

Hermione slid to the floor beside ink, parchment paper, and spare quills. She began crying, stinging, angry tears that only made her more angry and cry harder. She was angry at herself for crying, angry that she let Pansy get her this upset, angry that that stupid word had so much power over her. It was so _moronic_ , no scientist had ever found any real difference between the blood of muggles, muggle-borns, and pure-blood wizards. A few "scientists" had faked their findings and made up some hogwash about iron levels, but no respectable intellectual believed those skewed findings.

Just then the door opened, and Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway.

"What the hell are you doing down here, stealing from us? These supplies belong to Slytherin house," he said accusingly, then he noticed her tears.

"Oh, um, I didn't realize you were, uh… I'll just go."

"Stealing? Really Malfoy? You think that little of me?" Hermione snapped. He looked a little taken aback at the amount of venom in her voice.

"Well what the bloody hell else would you be doing in a supply closet?" Malfoy asked defensively.

"Can't a girl have a moment alone?" Hermione yelled.

"Shh!" Malfoy hissed, "unless you want the whole of Slytherin house to see you bawling in a closet!" he said as he closed the door behind him.

"Are you daft? I just said I wanted to be alone!" she scolded.

"Quiet down first! What if someone heard you screaming your head off? I don't want someone to go looking for the source of all the ruckus and find me in a closet alone with you."

"Then get out of the damn closet!" Hermione yelled.

"Shh!" Draco hissed again.

Hermione complied with a pout, "Why do you always do this? You always bother me in moments when I just want to be alone," she whispered.

"You always want to be alone," Draco rolled his eyes, "it's a wonder you have any friends at all."

"Well your friends are prejudiced, ignorant, bumbling morons!"

Draco shrugged, he didn't even look slightly offended.

"And you're just as bad! You intrusive, inconsistent, _confusing_ , elitist!"

Again, Draco hardly reacted except to raise a single eyebrow.

Hermione sighed and wiped the tears away from her eyes. She had sort of been looking for a fight, but Draco wasn't exactly cooperating. Perhaps she needed more biting insults.

"Are you quite done then, you condescending, weak-willed, snivelling know-it-all?" Malfoy asked with a slight twitch of a smile. His words weren't harsh, they were almost soft, like they were playing a game. Hermione nearly laughed. Instead she stood and brushed herself off. The closet was small, but not so small that she couldn't move around a bit without bumping into Draco.

"Right then. Another minute or so and then I'll leave. In the meantime, what did you mean by 'confusing'?"

Hermione shook her head, "I don't know, you-"

"Well those are three words I never thought I'd hear Hermione Granger say," Draco laughed with genuine surprise.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, but continued, "You're smart but you don't act like it, you hate me but you saved me from the lake, you insist on tormenting me with your presence but you've refrained from calling me a mud-mudblood in months." Hermione's mouth tumbled over the word, unaccustomed to the way it felt leaving her lips.

"It's not my _choice_ to be around you, we just keep getting… stuck together," Malfoy said.

"Well, I'm tired of it. You can stay here being afraid of what others think of you, _I'm_ going to find somewhere to try and get a moment's peace in this blasted castle," Hermione said as she reached for the doorknob, but when she turned it… It stuck.

"No," Hermione whispered, "no!" she wailed.


End file.
